I've always had cats and now that I have my own house I want to get a dog. What kind of dog is the most cat like and gets along well with cats?
I know mutts are usually better, so are there any specific mixes that fit the bill?
>>2112150
Mastiffs are gentle giants.
How do you know mutt are better?
>>2112150
I wouldn't say there are breeds that are cat friendly. I would avoid a high energy type of dog, like collies and cattle dogs. Honestly the best thing to do is go to the website of local rescue groups and see if any of the dogs have notes about if they've lived with cats. Often dogs are fostered in homes with cats so they can provide that info.
It's more their upbringing. If they grew up around cats then it's way different. Muh boy is some kind of lab/hound/pitbull thing and he is mellow around the cats. I adopted him when he was over a year old, but he has been around cats all his life.
Go to a rescue website, or go to a shelter and ask the staff. A good shelter will know their animals, and give you ideas for ones that will be good around cats. Some will also do home visits or sleep overs to let you test the dynamics.
>>2112150
Avoid dogs with a high prey drive. Even if it lives with cats all its life and you have plenty cute-ass pictures of them both sleeping and playing gently together, it still might "snap" one day and just hunt the cat. Rarely ends well for either.
>>2112150
Mastiff type breeds are good.
Depends on the dog, depends on the cat.
Young dogs meeting cats of any age is probably the best way to go about it. I'm cheating here, as the big fat cat there has already had a dog in his life whom died about a year ago. He seems to be pretty happy to have a dog in the house though. He'll dangle off the bed here and watch the puppy all day. Now and then he'll come down, even let the puppy jump on him for a bit before hopping up on the bed when he's had enough.
The other cat is about the same as she was with the dog. Didn't want anything to do with it and stayed out of the way. As long as the dog or the cat is young, they'll figure out a way to deal with each other. Just give the cat plenty of escape options like a nice sturdy cat tree, a room that's blocked off to the dog, whatever. Also never hold the cat while a puppy is bounding around. You'll end up with stitches because the cat will flip it's shit.
I think the bigger issue is how will your cats respond to having a dog around.
My experience with cats is that they don't like other animals in their space unless they were raised together
>>2113161
My experience a few months ago was weird. My cat started acting different when my sister took her cat (even though all they did was beef 24/7). Then my dog died and she started going around people more often, so when I got a puppy she'd hang around. Started out sniffing him and then she just kept slapping him and since he was so small he'd just whimper and run away. Smackums is kind of a dick. Jokes on her, he's a lot bigger now and doesn't even give a fuck when she slaps him.
>>2113161
My cats were annoyed for the first few days, but now they just don't give a fuck. One of my cats doesn't like the dog but tolerates him, and the other ALMOST likes him.
